CAL FIRE Stresses Preparedness Due to Lack of Rain

Fire Activity up Over 45 Percent

An early increase in fire activity has CAL FIRE looking at the lack of rainfall as an
indicator of a potentially higher fire threat this summer. Since the beginning of the year, CAL FIRE has
responded to over 680 wildfires, which is more than 200 over the average for this time of year.

“Our firefighters have responded to an increased number of wildfires due to the very little rainfall we have
received over the past few months,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, CAL FIRE director. “Last week in Southern
California we increased our staffing and moved our airtankers to their bases, which was needed as we saw
several large wildfires over the weekend.”

In late March, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) conducted this year’s next-to-last snow survey
and the low levels have CAL FIRE concerned about the impact to this year’s fire season. This final survey
found that snowpack is just 52 percent of average statewide, according to the Department of Water
Resources. Due to the low rainfall levels across the state from January to April, this year is likely to go
down as one of the driest ever.

The lack of winter rains has resulted in dry conditions across the state leading to a number of unseasonably
large wildfires that have already threatened people, homes and the state’s watershed. Over the past few
months CAL FIRE crews responded to an increased number of large wildfires including the 296 acre Becks
Fire in Lake County, the River Fire in Inyo County which grew to 406 acres and most recently, the 311
acre Jurupa Fire in Riverside County.

“In many other areas of the state we are in the process of training our seasonal firefighters and monitoring
weather conditions closely to determine our staffing levels,” said Chief Pimlott. “While we are busy
transitioning into fire season, this is the time we want residents to begin preparing their homes for fire
season by creating 100 feet of Defensible Space.”

CAL FIRE is asking Californians to prepare for wildfires by taking these actions:

Maintain 100 feet of Defensible Space

Remove all dead plants, grass, and weeds from within 30 feet of your home

Trim trees 6 feet from the ground

Remove all leaves, pine needles and debris from roofs

Create an Evacuation Plan in case of a wildfire

For more information on preparing for wildfires visit: www.ReadyForWildfire.org.

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